Great Perthshire Picnic – Enjoy the taste of Perthshire this September

Local businesses will be cooking up a storm this September, bringing the tastes and delights of Perth and Kinross alive as part of the Great Perthshire Picnic.

The Picnic is a month-long celebration of the best food and drink the region has to offer, with over 60 events scheduled throughout September, championing the best local produce and home-grown talent from across the region.

This year’s launch event takes place alongside the Perth Farmer’s Market on Saturday September 2nd and will feature a host of street food, live music and demonstrations. John Swinney MSP will be officially kicking off the 2017 Great Perthshire Picnic at 12 noon. Pop on down to King Edward Street and see us!

Events take place across the whole of September and we are certain there is something for everyone within our programme. Highlights include a pakora masterclass by Praveen from Tabla, a Murray’s pie high tea at Giraffe Café and a really exciting collaboration fundraising dinner where we see the chefs from 63 Tay Street, The North Port, Giraffe Trading and The Post Box coming together under the roof of Perth’s museum to bring a 4 course dinner using the finest Perthshire ingredients – a truly one-off experience not to be missed.

The Picnic is the brainchild of Perth’s leading social enterprise, Giraffe Trading, who will be getting right into the thick of the Picnic activities by hosting a range of events across September, including the launch of their new menu and an after-hours 5 course dinner evening to close the month.

Support is also coming from around the region, with The Mary Queen of Scots Festival in Kinross, Highland Safari’s Café in Aberfeldy, a pop up market in Kenmore with the Taymouth Courtyard, a foraged cocktail experience with Cairn O’Mohr in Errol and a Mad Hatter Afternoon Tea Party at Perth College… to name but a few!

Gareth Ruddock, Giraffe Trading CEO, is leading the project and says he’s been blown away by the level of support the idea has received locally, “Perth and Kinross is rightly famed for its food and drink producers. We have award-winning restauranteurs, chocolatiers, distilleries, breweries and produce right on our doorstep, so an event to celebrate this has a huge amount of talent to draw on locally.”

He continues, “I’ve been absolutely overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of businesses to get involved and see the idea develop. We’ve had far more interest than I could ever have hoped for, and September’s looking like it’s going to be a really tasty month.”

Organising food and drink events is not Giraffe Trading’s bread and butter. But, for anyone questioning why a social enterprise would be taking on an event of this size, Gareth is quick to offer an explanation: “As a social enterprise which concentrates on helping people with barriers to the workplace we are always looking for new ways to engage with local employers. The Great Perthshire Picnic has given us a reason to meet with and talk to a much broader range of potential employers than we would in our normal business. It also gives them a chance to find out more about what we do, and the value that one of our job seekers could bring to their workplace.”

“Food and drink was the obvious link for us, because we are already involved in producing fresh food from our Perth sites, giving opportunities for people to gain experience in the catering and retail industries to prepare them to move into employment.”

To pull together the Great Perthshire Picnic, some leading names in the local food and drink industry have helped including Keron from Exel Wines, Andrew from The North Port and Praveen from Tabla. As you might expect these businesses also feature on the events programme for September. Giraffe is also working with Open Studios to attract even more people into Perthshire to visit art and cooking events.

It is set to be a delicious month! Keep an eye out for our brochure detailing events and packed full of fantastic foodie deals and offers (available at Giraffe Café, South Street), or simply visit the website greatperthshirepicnic.co.uk. Events are booking up quickly, so register as soon as you can for your chosen date.

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